djpretzel Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 Definitely minimalist, and certainly repetitive, but also unique & transformative, and it gets better as it goes... - djp --- Kay, soooo hopefully I'm doing this right. Pretty sure I am. Ok.. Here goes. I covered the 'Dewford Town' theme from Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire for GBA. The name of my arrangement is 'Gotta Catch A Wave And A Memory'. I composed, played, and produced the cover alone. My user ID number is 33369. My user name is M4PLEHOODI3. My website would have to be my main YouTube channel [I'm a YouTuber], link is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQyrr05hXDbZJgZGwp_77jg The composer of the original song is Junichi Masuda, I believe. Credits and rights to the original go to Nintendo and Gamefreak, of course. The link to my song is The inspiration behind this cover came from the immense nostalgia I would get when I would listen to this song, even back in the Pokemon Sapphire days. For some reason, the song gave me this lonely feeling, but yet the feeling that everything would be fine in the end. I would literally fly to Dewford Town and put the Gameboy down to just vibe to the song. It just somehow told me that 'These days right here, with you playing this game... These are gonna be the good old days.'. And I mean, these days now aren't -bad- days.. But they're not the Pokemon Sapphire days, you know? And so, I tried to pour the emotions I gathered from the passing of time and that song into my own take on it. The result is a sleepy surf melody that had me nodding off when I was putting the finishing touches on the mix. I hope you enjoy. Thank you for receiving my submission. :] I will be doing more in the future. -M4PLEHOODI3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 This is a tough one. It's a very light arrangement of the source, but what's there is simply great. It's sort of an older style jam session that just takes the source and runs away with it. The bubbling sound that comes in from time to time sounds... well, out of place. The arrangement evokes "The Beach", but that bubbling sounds more like "In a lab". It's not technically wrong, per se, but I didn't feel it fit the piece very well. That lead guitar sounds incredibly clean, and it really shines as far as performance goes. The subtle background elements and soft change ups from the bass really help push this piece forward. Honestly, I think this track does exactly what it's supposed to do. It's incredibly relaxing because of it, too - the minimalist element to it just lets what's there shine through that much more. I think it's pretty damn good, myself. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Very interesting... This is kind of a tough song to evaluate, on one hand, it's VERY minimalistic, but on the other hand, that performance is full of soul and feeling and oozing nostalgia. But I'lll give it a shot: first, the bubbling background sound, I wasn't a big fan of. I don't know how it fits on the theme so maybe I'm missing a reference there, but I think the sound of beach waves would've fit better. second, the bass is as minimal as you could get... but it does change over time and really, it does what the track needs it to do. The protagonist here is of course the guitar, and boy did you run away with it. You really took your time with the development of the arrangement, and for the first 2 minutes I was wondering where this was going but you did enough to keep me curious. After the lead enters in full force it never lets up or disappoints, taking the source and transforming it naturally over time. Sometime exploring feelings of nostalgia, other times just being cocky and playful. I dig. I would've liked you to keep things shorter with such a minimalist approach. Around the 4 minute mark I felt that the idea was starting to overstay its welcome, although it didn't take much longer to end after that. I would've also enjoyed other subtle elements supporting the arrangement other than the bubbling sounds. I think the potential of the idea wasn't explored completely or as much as it could've been... but imo, what was done was enough, and what was done is pretty damn good. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Surprising arrangement approach, but I've been on the panel long enough to know that textural reduction is considered a very valid one. The interpretive aspect isn't lost at all either, which was just as important. Good use of the bubbling SFX, which fit very nicely in the soundscape both in the introduction and close, so I completely disagreed with Gario there; don't really care if it fits a beach vibe just because the word "surf" is in the submission letter. The subtle ramp-up at 2:12 and turn at 2:42 toward a different guitar rhythm and additional line in the background was well overdue, so I'm glad it all finally arrived; I would have felt compelled to reject this for a lack of development if the piece had hovered at the initial energy level and instrument set with a flat dynamic curve for 5 minutes. Everything after 2:42 continued to work well, including the dropoff back to the initial energy level at 3:41 but joined by the bubbling SFX and a more active lead. I could have gone for even more twists in this arrangement, but what's here works for the standards. Good job, Von! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Wow, minimalist is right! I think the bubbling sounds ok but doesn't really evoke "beach." I agree with Gario's "in the lab" description. I would have preferred some light surf sounds. I love the unique chords after 2:00. This is soft and relaxing. Honestly I would prefer a few more elements in this mix, but what's here is really well done. Sure, let's go with it. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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